Key Takeaways
- The United Nations committee has warned that New Zealand is at risk of weakening Māori rights and entrenching disparities for the Indigenous population.
- The committee expressed concerns over multiple government policies affecting Māori, including the disestablishment of the Māori Health Authority and cuts to public funding for Māori services.
- The report called on the government to strengthen the revitalisation of the Māori language and to implement concrete measures to address disparities in education, housing, health, and opportunities for Māori to participate in political and public life.
- The government has been criticized for its reforms, which have been described as moving backwards on racial equality and threatening Māori rights.
- The committee requested the government to report back on the concrete measures taken to implement its recommendations, particularly around environmental protection, the over-representation of Māori in the justice system, and strengthening Māori land rights.
Introduction to the UN Review
The United Nations committee for the convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (CERD) has released a critical review of New Zealand’s record on racial discrimination. The review, which is part of the committee’s eight-year review cycle for signatories to the convention, examined New Zealand’s policies and practices affecting Māori, the Indigenous population of the country. The committee’s 14-page report, released on 5 December, expressed concerns over multiple government policies, including the disestablishment of the Māori Health Authority, cuts to public funding for Māori services, and the minimisation of the role of the Treaty of Waitangi in schools and governance arrangements.
Concerns Over Government Policies
The committee said it was concerned that some of the government’s policies, including the scrapping of the Māori health authority and budget cuts to Māori departments, "may seriously risk weakening the legal, institutional, and policy framework for the implementation" of the racial discrimination convention. Prominent Māori leader, Lady Tureiti Moxon, who presented a complaint over the government’s policies to the committee in Geneva, said the review was "unprecedented in both its length and its language". Moxon stated that the committee’s report was the strongest critique of New Zealand’s record on racial discrimination, and that the government’s policies were moving backwards on racial equality and threatening Māori rights.
Disparities and Discrimination
The committee raised concerns about persistent disparities for Māori, including in education, housing, health, and opportunities for Māori to participate in political and public life. The report noted that Māori political expression in parliament was "disproportionately scrutinised and sanctioned", and that recent law changes risked "significantly curtailing statutory protections of Māori land rights". The committee also expressed concerns about the misrepresentation of affirmative action to address structural discrimination as "racial privilege" and "at odds with universal human rights" by some political and public figures. The report called on the government to strengthen the revitalisation of the Māori language and to implement concrete measures to address disparities in education, housing, health, and opportunities for Māori to participate in political and public life.
Government Response
In a statement, the minister for Māori Crown relations, Tama Potaka, said he had not read the report yet, but the government was committed to improving the quality of life and equity for Māori. Potaka said the review was one of a number of sources with "useful insights on issues of considerable importance in New Zealand" that were "longstanding and complex". However, the government’s reforms have been widely criticized, with many Māori leaders and advocates arguing that they are moving backwards on racial equality and threatening Māori rights. The coalition government, made up of the centre-right National party and its minor coalition partners, has said it wants to end "race-based policies", but its reforms have ignited the largest ever protest over Māori rights, multiple claims to the Waitangi Tribunal, judicial reviews, and large nationwide meetings between Māori leaders.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The committee’s report is a significant criticism of New Zealand’s record on racial discrimination, and the government’s response will be closely watched. The committee requested the government to report back on the concrete measures taken to implement its recommendations, particularly around environmental protection, the over-representation of Māori in the justice system, and strengthening Māori land rights. The report’s findings and recommendations are a call to action for the government to address the persistent disparities and discrimination faced by Māori, and to strengthen the revitalisation of the Māori language and culture. Ultimately, the government’s response will determine whether New Zealand is able to move forward on racial equality and address the concerns of the Māori population, or whether it will continue to move backwards and entrench disparities.
